New vendors maintain Siesta Key Village

More visitors to Siesta Key during Spring Break and subsequent holiday weekends bring more trash than usual, as residents are well aware. It’s not uncommon for those who live on Siesta Key to pick up trash as they walk along the beach or through the Village.

But new vendors providing maintenance in the Siesta Key Village aim to help alleviate some of that garbage with more frequent pick-ups than previous vendors, to keep the area as “resort-like” as possible.  

After the county last summer struggled to find and select a single company to provide for the area’s needs, two companies were hired to split the duties.

Boro Building and Property Maintenance, Inc. was hired in November to provide general custodial services for the Village, and in February, Wilhelm Brothers, Inc. started providing landscape maintenance.

“So far, everything is good,” said Michael Shay, the maintenance manager of the Siesta Key Village Maintenance Corp. “We’re not having any issues.”

In the past, there have been complaints about the pressure-washing schedule and the frequency of trash pick-up in the Village. But with the new contract comes a new way to address both issues.

Some Village tenants have complained about trash piling up, particularly over busy weekends. The previous contract didn’t require that trash be picked up every day, and allowed for less frequent pick-up during less busy months.

Now, it's collected five days a week, every week.

“I think one of the things we learned over the past couple of years is that there’s no longer a defined downtime, so to speak,” Shay said.

Additionally, pressure washing is now handled by an outside contractor the county already uses, which Shay said will allow the flexibility for more spot-cleaning as needed, instead of regular large-scale cleanings that can become disruptive.

These companies replace Buccaneer Landscape Management, which did the job of maintaining the Village for three years. The two new contracts combined will cost about $40,000 less each year.

Previously, the three years of service cost almost $400,000. Now, even with two separate contracts, it costs less than $300,000 over three years. The service is paid for by fees charged to business owners in the Village.

When the county’s contract with Buccaneer Landscape Management ended in August, a new contract had not started. Finding one company to do all the work associated with cleaning the Village and maintaining its landscaping proved too difficult. To bring in more vendors and increase competition, the county chose to split it into two contracts.

According to former Siesta Key Village Association President Wendall Jacobsen, the vendors are responsible for “helping the Village look like a resort-style village, like it should.”

The scope of service for the landscaping includes mulch replacement, palm pruning, replacement of plants, pest management, irrigation, fertilization, mowing and dealing with debris. All work must be done  before 11:30 a.m.

The custodial contract includes garbage collection, collection of loose litter, cleaning of water fountains, maintaining walkways, paint touch-ups and general housekeeping of the area.

With the new contracts in place, everything is good in the Village, Shay said.

“There’s always a learning curve when you have new people — and whatever little bumps we had were ironed out,” he said. “Everything is working fine.”